Energy in Demand News, April 27-28, 2025

This is the week that many of the world’s institutions received a lecture from the new US administration on changes that should be made. The Financial Times reports: “US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has accused the IMF and World Bank of “mission creep”, calling for them to step back from “their sprawling and unfocused agendas” on climate change and gender issues.” Bessent “stopped short of saying the US could pull out altogether but made clear the administration’s frustrations with the IMF in particular.”  Politico reports that the US has also warned the IEA about its approach to the energy transition: “Trump administration officials are attempting to block the world’s most important energy research agency from producing data that the U.S. government argues favors renewable power over fossil fuels.” Furthermore, “U.S. officials pushed the body, which publishes influential energy market forecasts, to cease its work promoting the global shift to clean power and net-zero carbon emissions.” See this week’s post in EiD for more on this week’s energy security summit.

The Economist writes that Trump signed an executive order on April 24^th, saying “authorising seabed mining is intended to free American companies from international constraints and let them hoover up rock nodules the size of goose eggs that are rich in nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese and other minerals, and that are abundant on some parts of the ocean bottom. . . .  The order applies not only to America’s own exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but to the high seas beyond American jurisdiction.” What environmental catastrophe is this going to lead to.

For some encouraging news, the Financial Times reports: “Powerful New York City public pension funds are prepared to drop asset managers that do not comply with its climate plans, comptroller Brad Lander has warned, in a move that puts industry groups such as BlackRock under renewed pressure over sustainable investing.” It goes on: “Managers that failed to provide actionable plans on emissions by a June 30 deadline may lead to Nycers [NYC Employees’ Retirement System] putting its investment mandates out to bid.”

For even more encouraging news, a survey of 1500 executives in 15 countries back a long-term move away from fossil fuels in order to shift to renewables. They are supporting a shift to a renewables-based electricity system by 2035. The Financial Times reported: “Some 52 per cent of those polled said they would move their operations and 49 per cent would shift supply chains to better access to renewables-based power systems within five years, if their home market lacked green energy. This figure jumped to 89 per cent of senior executives within ten years.”

In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:

• Country Living Magazine provides 3 European train routes set to transform travel in 2025.
• World Walks provides us with the top spring walks in Europe.
• For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine in Europe and Australia, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
• Cycling for Softies provides us with the 15 Best Cycling Holidays in Europe 2025.
• Torino (Italy) is embracing a new era, transforming from an industrial powerhouse into a flourishing tourism destination: Torino Named European Capital of Smart Tourism 2025.

Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975), the British historian and philosopher of history provides us once more with an important message about reaching our goal that we all need to reflect upon: “It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.”

EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:

• EEA briefing supporting the EU’s biodiversity strategy
• Motivations, preferences, and social values are shifting the mobility transition in Europe quickly
• Large-scale renovation projects prioritising circular materials and energy efficiency must become the norm
• Revisiting the benefits of appliance efficiency standards
• Two scientists say they’ve built a tool that can calculate how much damage each oil company’s planet-warming pollution has caused
• Germany’s energy transition: “We want to both remain an industrialised country and become climate-neutral”
• Energy sector leaders usher in a new era of energy security
• America’s energy transition: “nothing in the energy world is easy these days”
• Hydro-Québec is launching a new $10 billion plan this week to help Quebecers save electricity

Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.

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